Companies are racing to roll out nuclear reactor designs that would be faster to build and could meet rising demand for energy from AI data centers. Two nuclear companies have proposals for new reactors in Kansas. Plus: Data centers are fundamentally changing the landscape for electric utilities in Missouri and beyond.

Two companies have revealed plans in recent weeks to potentially build nuclear reactors in Kansas. Their proposals are very different, but both are part of the race to open a new chapter in the history of U.S. nuclear power. Kansas News Service reporter Celia Llopis-Jepsen and editor Stephen Koranda explain.

As large data centers move into Missouri, they will require huge amounts of electricity. St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke spoke with Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, about data centers' impact on the electric utility environment and your electricity bill.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Jacob Smollen, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker and Madeline Fox.

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